Lilies of the Field
by trufflebear
Summary: An Eclipse rewrite. The Volturi has welcomed another member and they plan to show her off in Forks. That would be one problem. Another is that there seems to be vampires residing in La Push with no plans of leaving. First fanfic! Please read!
1. Dinner

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight.

a/n: This is my first fanfiction! Please be kind to me! Sorry it's really short. I don't think anyone would like to read anything too long . . .

She saw her.

She was clinging to a tall boy wearing a long, hooded coat. He was handsome, she thought, like the one she met five years ago. The tourists were pushing her towards the door, impatient to see more of the medieval fortress.

"Bella," her voice broke. But she did not hear her. No one heard her. The two and the pixie-like girl floating with them were caught up in their own world.

She felt slightly relieved that she was exiting rather than entering as she was. But she could not help but feel a tremor of fear. She was with _them. _She did not know who they were but she did know _what _they were. She knew what was coming.

A foreign lady was praying in a language she did not know of, clutching a rosary. _So she knows as well_, she thought. She stared back at the brown-haired girl and the two exquisitely beautiful individuals. _What is she doing here? Why is she with them?_

She looked around her. Everyone looked so happy except for the foreign lady with the rosary. They didn't know, as the two of them did, that they were rushing towards death. The foreign lady touched her shoulder and spoke softly of her native tongue. She turned to face her, confused. She could not understand.

"I don't know. I really don't know," she managed to say softly, tears brimming her eyes.

The foreign lady became ashen. She slowed her steps. There was no other option. They were going to die.

A huge double door was open and the foreigners gushed inside. The people behind her pushed her impatiently and she stumbled inside and saw them. They were all lined up horizontally, their eyes black with thirst. A gasp escaped her mouth, as everyone did although hers was different. Inside that room was a more medieval, more ancient design. Her shock was because she had seen them, in her mind. He had told her all about them five years ago.

Her gaze shifted frantically at all directions. First, her gaze was at the friendly-looking man who seemed to be the leader.

_Don't be fooled by Aro. He's not what he seems, _she remembered he said that before.

She stumbled backwards, hitting a woman on her arm. The woman cursed but she was too afraid to apologize.

"Welcome, guests!" Aro greeted. The others, except for a bored looking man, smiled hungrily at them.

They attacked.

She let out a blood-curling scream.


	2. Collections

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

a/n: Please review :D

She forced her eyes open and discovered that she was surrounded by lifeless bodies strewn all over the floor.

"Now, we're done," it was a light, musical voice. Aro again.

"Master, there is one . . . ," one of the cloaked guards whispered to him, surprised.

All eyes turned on the girl.

_They are the Volturi. Be very careful as not to anger them, _she remembered he told her that before.

He walked towards her.

_We give ourselves to our senses when we hunt . . . No human is safe near a thirsty vampire._

_Then why am I still here? _Her thoughts were screaming, demanding for the answer.

She looked down at the floor. The foreign lady was there, pale because of all the blood sucked out of her, still clutching on her rosary.

"Well, sweetling, we must have missed you," his voice was amused. He leaned at her and sniffed. "Which I do not understand. You have a pleasant smell."

_You have a pleasant smell. _He told her that, too, years ago.

Aro's eyes were filled with numerous possibilities as he looked down at the girl. Confusion at first, then curiosity.

"Don't you think, brothers, that she will make a good vampire?"

The last word sent a shiver down her spine. _Vampire._

The snow-haired man was by his side in an instant.

"Are you out of your mind, Aro? What if this _girl _deems useless?" he hissed.

"Then, when it comes to that, we kill her," he said simply, happily.

Aro held out his hand to the girl.

_He will know every thought that passed on your mind since your birth with a single touch._

She extended her hand to take it.


	3. Favors

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: This chapter is kind of fast-paced. Sorry, this is my very first fanfic! Lots of errors . . .

* * *

Bella looked up to her father as he put down the receiver. He sighed.

"Anything wrong, Dad?" she asked.

"Bells, you remember Aunt Lilia?" he asked in a hopeless tone.

"Sure I do, Dad." Lilia was her young aunt no more than a year older than her. She remembered one time when she visited Charlie during the summer. She was twelve while her aunt was thirteen. Even though she thought of herself as the mature little girl older than what she seemed to be, Lilia was more grown-up. She remembered that she had light brown hair, almost blond, and the same chocolate brown eyes as her. They used to play together with a neighbor named Anna. She wasn't allowed to call her Lilia on her face, same rules as Charlie's.

"She's sick. Her larynx's got a problem," he shuddered. "Kinda worried about her, she's only a year older than you."

Bella nodded. _Trust Granny Swan to marry so young and have humongous pregnancy gaps._

"She's in Italy right now, to a specialist," he added.

"Where in Italy?" she ask casually.

"Some place called Volterra."

She froze. Paranoia swept over her.

"She said she's going to stay there for a long time so she'd be a stone away from the doctor," he shoved a mouthful of breakfast cereal on his mouth and arched his eyebrows. "You think Carlisle could help her out?"

It was natural for Charlie to be worried about Lilia, Bella knew. She was always sickly. Bella chewed her cereal slowly. _Could it . . . ? No . . . Just because he mentioned Volterra doesn't mean . . . It doesn't mean anything._

"Maybe. I'll ask him," she finally replied.

Charlie smiled gratefully at her.


	4. Visions

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

a/n: This is very short . . . Please review! I need your help! :D

* * *

"It's just a coincidence, Bella," Alice said, rolling her eyes. "It doesn't mean anything!"

"Okay, I guess you're right but can you make sure?" Bella asked sheepishly.

"Oh, for pity's sake!" she exclaimed, punching the air with her fists in exasperation.

"Alice," Edward eyed her. She groaned.

"Just look onto it and prove," he raised his eyebrows. "I know Bella's a bit anxious about this but you can't blame her."

"_Too _anxious, Edward," she corrected, glowering at him. She sighed dejectedly and shut her eyes close.

"Thank you," he winked at Bella. She smiled feebly.

They waited seconds, then minutes. Still, Alice's eyes were shut in concentration. Edward knit his eyebrows. Alice's visions were strange. She was seeing Lilia, Bella's aunt, walking with a group of people. Bella glanced at Edward, nervous. He caught her gaze and shrugged. He pulled her closely to him.

"Let's just wait until Alice finishes her visions. I think it's going to be long," he told her. They walked out of the room.

Edward had his full attention to Bella. Honestly speaking, he did not think that her aunt would be in trouble in Volterra unless she's a magnet for trouble like her niece. At this, he laughed inwardly; unaware of what the vampire in the other room had just seen.


	5. False Alarm

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: Okay! This is my fifth chapter. Hope it's alright. There's more dialog here compared to the previous chapters' and a bit longer, I guess. Please let me know what you think! :D

* * *

"Charlie said it was vocal fold paralysis," Bella said.

"Unilateral or bilateral?" Carlisle asked.

"I think it's the first one."

He nodded intelligently. Alice burst out of the door.

"Alice?" Carlisle stood up, alarmed.

"I. Can't. See. Anything," she looked like she was going to cry. She slumped down a chair and pressed her face helplessly on her palms.

"Alice! What's wrong?" Bella rushed beside her.

"I don't know! I keep on seeing her on a plane then here in Forks, then she's gone," she spoke fast but Bella caught every word she said.

"Aunt Lilia?"

"Who else?" she swung her hands in exasperation.

"You mean she's going to . . . Die?" her voice turned quiet and her face became deathly pale.

"No . . . I don't know. I think _maybe_ . . . ," Alice's eyes turned into slits.

"Maybe what?" she urged anxiously.

"Maybe your puppies intruded," she leered at her.

"You mean Jacob and the werewolves," she corrected. "What would they do with her?"

"False alarm," Alice sighed, standing up. "Oh, _I don't know, _Bella. Maybe Charlie will bring her along to a fishing trip."

She rolled her eyes before marching off the room.

Bella sighed. There was still a friction between her vampire family and her werewolf friends. Edward placed his hand carefully on her shoulder.

"So Lilia's going to Forks, huh?" she murmured, her arms crossed. His lips twitched.

"Don't be angry, love. Alice is very bothered that she couldn't see that part of the future, I mean those dogs' of course."

She glared at him. "Should you _always _refer to them as dogs?"

"Well, that _is _what they are," he said defensively. "Besides, it would be more . . . just. They call _us _bloodsuckers, don't they?"

"Bella," Carlisle called.

She turned to face him.

"Please tell Charlie that it would be fine for me to check on your aunt."

She smiled. "Thanks, Carlisle."

When Bella went back home, she overheard Charlie talking on the phone. He put the receiver down just as she entered the room.

"Hey, Dad," she greeted.

"Hey, Bells. So how was it?"

"Carlisle said it was okay."

A smile lit up on Charlie's face.

"That's great. I just talked to her nurse. She said she just finished her operation."

She sat down on a chair.

"So when's she coming?" she asked.

"Two weeks from now. Heard the operation was a success. The doctor was great."

"Are you planning on bringing her to La Push to fish?"

Charlie looked at her, puzzled.

"Why would I do that?"

She shrugged.

He laughed. "Must have been a long time since you've seen each other, huh? Lil _loathes _that place."

He continued laughing, oblivious that Bella was staring at him dumbfounded.


	6. Exchange

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: Thank you for your reviews! Thank you especially, ShesGotStyle16. I have several chapters ready for updating but now that I look over them, I realize that you're right. They lack description and Edward-Bella conversations. So, I'll try to be more descriptive. It would be too boring if it's all talk. I hope that this chapter is an improvement! This fanfiction is an Eclipse rewrite so from this point on, there will be excerpts from the book itself. Please tell me if there is anything wrong!:D

* * *

Edward stopped a few feet from an invincible line separating Forks and La Push, eyeing the boy beside the yellow Volkswagen who was glaring at him through his windshield. _Finally, _he could hear him thinking. _Kinda worried he bit her. _He knew that he had that thought mainly to irk him. Bella threw a furtive glance at him and he realized that he was clenching the steering wheel a bit tighter than usual. He loosened his grip and they went out of the car.

"What is it, bloodsucker? I haven't got time to listen to your whines," he snarled as he got out from his.

"Just a few words, dog," he retorted steely, walking a few feet from him with Bella following behind.

"Shoot."

Bella noted that the situation was similar to an old cowboy movie scene where two enemies face each other, their hands itching to reach for their guns. But there were no guns there. There were only a vampire and a werewolf, which was much more dangerous than the shootings.

"I'm going to have to put my trust on you. It's not easy for me to hand Bella's safety to a werewolf."

"You think she's going to be in danger _here_? What about _you_?" he snapped.

He leered at him. "I'll have to threat you then. If there is even one strand of hair missing on Bella's head, if she got hurt even a scratch and I don't care if it is by you or if it is an accident, I'm going to kill you."

For a moment, they only glared at each other, unspoken hate spoken through their gazes.

"You have my word, leech," he finally spat out.

He nodded and faced Bella.

"Edward . . ."

He pressed his cool lips on her forehead. Jacob looked away, disgustedly.

"Careful, Bella," he whispered, and then he strode to his Volvo. He gave a final glower at Jacob's direction before driving off. Jacob's stiff posture relaxed. He grinned at Bella and she could not help but smile back.

They were driving to the beach, in the middle of conversations ranging from the new movie to cliff diving, when Jacob wrinkled his nose.

"Geez, Bella. You reek."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the compliment, Jake," she said sarcastically.

"You smell like that _leech._"

"I just wish."

"Huh. That bloodsucker's freaking annoying. _How_ do you stand him?"

She scowled at him then her gaze diverted to a group of bleach-white boys. Although they were a great distance far from them, she could tell that they were extremely tall. Their complexions were in contrast to the dark evergreen of their background. Her eyes caught them for only a second, their faces were unfamiliar.

"Hey, Jake," she said. He caught the change of her tone. "Are there any new werewolves?"

He cast a puzzled look. "No, why?"

She shook her head, partly as if to shake the image of the strange quad off her mind.

"Nothing."


	7. Alliances

Disclaimer: I don not own Twilight.

a/n: Thank you, ZYRA, for all your support. But, I do believe that my story lack a great deal of something that's why it's not so successful. But, I'll do my best. However, I think that from this point on, I will not be updating so frequently. I am about to embark on a journey wherein my goal is to find the recipe for writing something people would _read _(I think that was a bit dramatic XD). Besides, I've got lots of exams piled up.

I hope you like this one. Please review! I would really need your help in improving this.

* * *

Bella shook her thoughts about the tall, white boys by the trees away. She should not be troubled about it, she thought. She had to concentrate on Victoria. But what can a pathetic human like her possibly do to fight off an angry, vengeful vampire? She was listening to Jacob's plan about taking on Victoria when she remembered that Carlisle had asked her a favor.

The sea breeze blew coolly, relaxing and giving her a sense of freedom. Bella was, after all, out of the protective sights of her vampire family. With Jacob, everything was easy. He was not being too careful as Edward was.

"Jake, Carlisle's asking a favor," she said, cutting off whatever he was saying. He stared at her incredulously.

"The head vamp is asking a favor from us?"

"_Carlisle,_" she corrected.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Bella."

He kicked the sand towards the sea in spite.

"He's asking for the werewolves' alliance," she continued, ignoring his behavior. "He thinks that it'll be easier for both of you— I mean vampires and werewolves— if you work together."

"And why would we need their filthy help?" he asked scornfully.

"Because Jasper has a lot of experience in dealing newborns," she glared at him. "He said that if you help each other, Jasper could teach you how to fight them."

"Why don't they look for their fellow bloodsuckers' help?" he asked, although there was a hint of curiosity rather than malice in his tone.

"Because you killed Laurent, Irina's mate. They wouldn't help us without Carlisle's permission to attack the werewolves," she replied dryly, crossing her arms.

Jacob pondered on what Bella said, tapping his fingers on his chin. _So the bloodsuckers' asking our help, _he toyed with the idea. A smile was playing on his lips. _If Sam would allow . . . _

"Look, Bells, I've got to ask Sam about this. Can you stay here for a few minutes without hurting yourself?"

She glowered at him.

He laughed. "Your bloodsucker sounded serious when he told me he was gonna kill me."

He skipped a few feet away from her. "You know, Bella, you really do reek," he said, wrinkling his nose before running off, out of her sight.

She sniffed at her hair. Edward's faint smell from earlier had completely disappeared but she could still smell an icy scent somewhere, getting stronger by the second.

"Excuse me," the voice was smooth. She turned around and found four tall, placidly white boys in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"News is that you are Bella Swan. Nice to meet you," his smile was lopsided. She could not tear her nervous gaze from his blood red eyes.


	8. Residents

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: I **TRY **to make my story longer but it seems that when I upload each chapter from MS Word to my Document Manager, it shrinks. I'm really sorry if it's short. Thank you GethinPathIsolator, for making 3/4 of the reviews.

* * *

_Those guys, _she remembered. The one who talked was the smallest of the four. He was a few inches taller than Edward, she noted. The other three were about two feet taller, taller than anyone she had ever seen. Taller than Jacob, even. They were muscular but not excessively so, handsome and dark-haired. From the four, the smallest one was the most well-groomed. He was the only one with the kept hair while the three had long, pony-tailed manes and he was the only one wearing proper clothing (clean, white shirt, pants and leather shoes). The others wore only denim pants and were walking barefoot.

"My name is Alden Baden. These are my brothers— Cecil, Gabriel and Monte," he gestured at his tall companions. From the looks of it, they were not biologically related. The man had jet black hair; his 'brothers' had mud brown, rust and grayish black respectively. Their features were different as well. Their only similarities lie on their pallid complexions and crimson eyes.

Her heart was beating furiously. Cecil grinned.

"The faster the heart beats the more blood in the system. That makes the meat tastier," Monte murmured, hungry eyes on Bella.

"We are not here to _eat, _brother," Alden said dryly without turning his back. "We see that there is an impending danger concerning the Volturi."

"How . . . How did you know?" she choked out, her eyes widening at the word 'Volturi'.

He smiled again, lopsided. "We know a lot of things, dear Bella."

"We know the Cullens," Cecil added.

"Unfortunately they don't know us," Gabriel smirked.

"We'll help you if you want, Bella," Alden said amiably, although from the looks of his eyes, it seemed that he needed not her permission to attack. They were filled with hunger, not for blood but perhaps, bloodbath, in a way.

"I don't think so."

Jacob walked in with a furious expression on his face.

"Jacob," Bella sighed in relief, her hand on her chest as if by doing so would keep her together.

He grabbed fistfuls of Alden's shirt, lifting him inches from the ground.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" he growled, baring his teeth.

He smiled up at him mockingly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Jacob Black," he said calmly.

"How did you know my name?" he demanded.

Alden smiled, partly gloatingly.

"My kind knows everything."

"You bloodsuckers . . ."

Cecil, Gabriel and Monte arched their eyebrows at the nickname.

He threw him to his brothers who did not flinch or move a bit when their leader collided on them.

"Captain, are you alright?" Gabriel asked although no hint of concern touched his face.

"I'm fine," Alden reassured, dusting off his shirt while standing up.

"Go before I kill you," Jacob ordered, shuddering.

Cecil chuckled darkly. "_You _kill _us?_"

"Do not anger the boy, brother," Alden told him, more of an order than a warning. "We live here, Jacob Black."

"We rented that house near the forest. You think you can kick out a resident?" Gabriel laughed.

"Gabriel."

"Right, captain."

"No bloodsucker can live in La Push," Jacob snarled.

"As far as I know, your treaty involves only of your kind and the Cullens," Alden said uninterestedly, almost drowsily.

"Then we'd have to chase you out, don't we?"

"We'd like to see you try," he grinned, a foreboding glint in his eyes.

Jacob was shuddering violently.

"Jake," Bella hissed.

"Get out of here, Bella," he said through his teeth, veins protruding from his knuckles and arms.

"We do not want a fight," Alden said, although seeming not to take notice nor to care what was going on.

"Then _go_," he snarled.

He shook his head. "We went here for a mission and we will leave when that mission has been completed. Gentlemen," he nodded at his companions. "Let us leave."

His goodbye, however, was not of what Jacob wished for. Angry as he was, he could not seem to transform for what reason he did not know. Perhaps it was a survival instinct? Something told him that those four, especially the smaller one, were not of the ordinary. Besides, he was handicapped in terms of number.

With a blink of an eye, they were gone.

"Wh— who are they?" Bella stared at where they had been, a shiver running down her spine.

Jacob slammed his knuckles on a dead tree, causing it to shudder and causing splinters to explode, flying everywhere.

"I've got to inform Sam about this," he grunted. "Damn with Victoria and those bloodsuckers . . ."


	9. Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: Sorry I haven't updated for some time! I was busy last week, and perhaps even this week (you never know!). Well, I might not update for a time after this but not so much like a month. Maybe a week.

This is perhaps my longest which you may, if I'm lucky, consider the standard size. I hope you like this! Read and review, please! :D

* * *

Alice's face was contorted in to a look of concentration. She shook her head.

"No. I don't think so. I can't see them anywhere in the future."

Bella sighed in relief. _That's good. That's one less thing to worry about. _She shuddered as she remembered Alden Baden and his brothers. Judging from the colour of their eyes, they were not vegetarians like the Cullens.

But something inside her, like an intuition, told her to think otherwise.

Jasper crouched, leaning forward, getting ready for his tutorial. Anxiety crippled him; he had never thought werewolves before nor did he wanted to. Still, he had to. It was not his choice. For the sake of his sister (or who would soon be, for the matter), he would have to. There was really no other option.

"They're here," Edward said.

They all faced the direction where the werewolves were to emerge.

_~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~_

He looked over at the trees and closed his eyes. In his mind, she was there. In his mind, she had never gone away. He breathed the scent of pine and in his mind he was breathing her scent.

He remembered that time, years ago, when they were walking by the woods. They need not talk; each other's presence was enough to make them happy.

"_Our kind does not linger long."_

"_Like nomads?" she suggested._

"_Yes," he nodded, "like nomads. It would be dangerous to stay at a given place for so long."_

_She looked over at the trees, not meeting his gaze. _

"_If I were like you . . .," she said dreamily._

"_No!" he cut her off, his eyes filled with fright at the thought. "Don't waste your humanity for me. Being me, it would have been alright had I not met you but it's not. It's the barrier than separates my kind from yours."_

"_If I break the barrier . . ."_

_He shook his head vehemently. _

"_Please," he said. "Don't let me suffer at the sight of your pain. It would kill me."_

He knew that at that time, she accepted whatever he said, and whatever he was. Perhaps presently, even, wherever she was, whatever she was doing. He wondered if she was safe, if she thinking of him as much as he was thinking of her. He wondered if she thought of him as a dream, as he frequently did. It was not right that anyone could have been so happy.

"_That is more than enough. My son, Jasper, has experience in this area . . ."_

He opened his eyes and looked over at the direction where that voice came from.

_Bella Swan is extremely lucky, _he thought. _With a family such as that, and that boy always by her side._

"Captain," someone called.

He turned to face him and smiled bitterly.

"This was the place where we first met her," he said. He turned his gaze on a tree and pressed his palm on its trunk. He remembered that several years ago, she was leaning on it.

He turned to face him again, his eyes embedding a forlorn heartache.

Monte looked at him on the eye understandingly. "We must remember that we have come here for one reason."

"Alas, you do not know, brother, I have my own reasons aside from confronting Aro."

He looked at him, surprised.

"What do you mean?" he stepped back. "You don't say that you were . . ."

"Yes, yes," he said impatiently. "I was hoping that I would see _her. _Perhaps she has come back? I do not know."

Frustration overwhelmed him and the agonizing fact that he had a weakness— his little Waterloo, that human girl. Such love would be laughed at by their kind, he knew. It was similar to Bella Swan and Edward Cullen's predicament.

He took a deep breath and turned to face at a direction where Monte could not see his eyes.

"Alden, I understand," he said quietly.

He looked up at the sky, his mind preoccupied by her voice, and stories she had told him.

"I know," he closed his eyes. "I know."

Pain overwhelmed him as he recalled their first conversations, the memories she offered him that short time they were together.

_You're like lilies of the field . . ._

_Isn't that in the Bible?_

_Yes . . . it's natural for you, everything . . . you're beautiful in every way . . .  
_

_Let's not exaggerate things._

He opened his eyes to face his companion.

"It is time we prepare. They're coming. I could almost smell them."

_Some things aren't so easy as they seem._

_. . . Anna . . .  
_

_~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~  
_

In Volterra at the same moment, Jane was smiling at an abbess who was holding on to a rosary, chanting Hail Marys after Hail Marys as if by doing so would save her from what she was about to face.

"It's been long since I tasted a religious one," she mused.

Belief, she believed, was what led her to her death. Centuries ago, those beliefs were pinpointed directly to religion. Her dinner was a slight compensation of what had happened several centuries ago when she was still human, about to be burned at stake.

Screaming filled the entire fortress. Alec grinned at the girl at the corner.

"You missed a spot," he said, tapping his lower lip.

She laughed and pressed her lips together.

"That one tasted nice," she said.

He watched her and a tide of unexplainable emotion flooded in him. Perplex as he was, he did not stop to wonder why. His eyes were glued to the girl, the newborn vampire, the latest addition to their team.

"Tomorrow is the day," she said.

He looked at her with affection, seeming not to really care about the small talk. What was that feeling, he wondered? He had never experienced it all his centuries of existence.

"Yes," he replied gravely. "Tomorrow is the day."


	10. Plans

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: You might get bored here . . . Mostly from the book. Thank you, for all your reviews! Please tell me what you think. XD

* * *

Bella woke up to see a pair of amber eyes staring at her. She smiled. Edward was propped up, gazing down at her.

"You're awake," he murmured. "I hope you are."

"You hope?" she questioned, confused.

"You've been restless," he shrugged. "It's been a long night. You needed sleep."

There was a troubled expression on his face. She got up and stretched her arms. He was by her side in an instant then his cellphone buzzed.

"Alice," he did not need to look at the caller ID.

"Yes, I guessed that. She was talking in her sleep," he stared at her eyes, scowling disapprovingly.

She flushed. _How much did I say? _She thought worriedly. She remembered that she dreamt that she was following Jasper to find Edward. She figured he heard all about that in her sleep. She realized that Edward had just put his cellphone away and was waiting for her to talk.

"I like Jasper's idea," she confessed, not meeting his gaze.

He sighed heavily. "Bella, I know you want to do something but being in danger just wouldn't help."

"But Jasper thinks it would," she reasoned. "Besides, you can't keep me away. I'm not going to hide out in the forest while you're risking . . ."

"Bella," he interrupted, fighting a smile. "Alice didn't see you in the clearing. She saw you stumbling around lost in the woods."

"That's because Alice didn't factor Seth. He wants to be there as much as I do. It wouldn't be hard to persuade him to show me the way," she retorted coolly.

"That might have worked if you haven't told me," he said. "Now, I'd have to tell Sam to give Seth certain orders."

She smiled pleasantly. "But why would he if my being there would help? I bet he'd rather do me a favour than you."

"You're right but Jacob would be only too eager to give you the same orders."

He smiled. He knew she got her.

"Jacob is second in command. Did he ever tell you that? His orders have to be followed, too."

_Jacob never told me that, _she thought, a bit annoyed.

"Do you remember the smaller gray wolf last night?" he abruptly changed the topic.

She nodded reluctantly.

"Guess who she is."

"She?" her eyes widened.

He nodded. "Leah Clearwater."

"_Leah Clearwater? _Are you sure?" her tone was disbelieving.

"Positive. The pack's mind is mesmerizing."

"The pack _is_ fascinating," she agreed dryly. "But I still want to go to the clearing, Edward."

He scowled down at her.

"It's either I go to the clearing or you'll stay with me."

She wanted to keep him safe with her. _Is it too much to ask?_ She thought. Apparently, to Edward, it was.

"You ask me to let them fight without my help?" he said quietly.

"Or to let me be there. . . As long as we're together," she could see the defeat in his eyes.

He looked at her straight in the eyes. _I should, _he thought. _I've given her too much pain already. _He took his cellphone from his pocket. "Alice, could you come babysit Bella for a while? I need to speak to Jasper."

Bella could feel her stomach tighten. There was a great deal of sacrifice weighting his voice.

"I'm here," Alice's high voice broke the quiet atmosphere. She danced across Bella's bedroom.

"Bel-laaaaaa! Your hair's a mess!" she wagged her finger in mock chastisement.

She touched her brown hair idly. She just realized that she just got out of the bed.

"Where's Charlie?" she asked.

"In the airport to fetch Lilia," she said. _Lilia,_ she felt the blood drain from her face.

Alice squeezed Bella's arm gently.

"I know you're worried about her, Bella, but be _reasonable. _Do you honestly believe that Lilia of all people would have been one of those tourists we've seen in Italy?"

She hesitated. "But she _does _study in Italy . . ."

"Which proves nothing," she gazed at her seriously. "It's too much of a coincidence. We didn't see her there, did we?"

Bella frowned. _We were too preoccupied to notice them . . ._

Alice seemed to know what she was thinking. She rolled her eyes and sighed in defeat. "You're useless. Absolutely useless."

She let go of her arm and walked a few steps away.

"I'll be back. Jasper would be there by now. He was off hunting with Emmett. I'll just pass the message, Edward."

Bella stepped forward to where Alice had been and groaned. "She'll be here in a few minutes."

Edward was by her side instantly.

"Alice is right, love. You shouldn't worry about your aunt."

"You, too?" She sighed as she turned to face him. "You're right. I guess I _am _overreacting."

He held her closer, very carefully placing his chin above her head lest he break her. She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent as if to pacify the ache and forget the trauma.

"It's going to be alright," he murmured, his eyes averted to the window. His internal demise being that he could not fight alongside his family. His choice was either Bella or no Bella, his pain or hers. _Definitely Bella, _he thought for the first one. Then, for the second:_ Obviously, I would rather that I would have to suffer than her._

They were in this still embrace when red and blue lights flashed on the window: Chief Swan and his younger sister were home.


	11. Lilia

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: This one is pretty short considering I haven't been updating for a long time. I've been really busy . . . So, I've also added a few more chapters since I have my exams next week. Please review!

* * *

Bella could hear the cruiser stop in front of the house.

"That's them," she sighed, dumping her empty cereal bowl on the sink.

Charlie opened the door, carrying a heavy suitcase.

"Hey, Bells," he grunted.

"Hey, Dad. Edward and Alice are here," she said.

Alice had sneaked in earlier, just a minute before Charlie opened the door.

"Really? That's great," his tone did not match his words.

"I'm fine, Charlie. I can carry it myself," an exasperated voice said.

Bella jolted up upon hearing the voice.

She came in the room, dropping the hood of her jacket. Her light brown hair was slightly damp from perspiration but she looked somewhat eager in spite of this. She beamed at Bella.

"Cold in Forks, huh? I'm freezing," she said, her breath visible before her as if to testify this. Bella could see that there was a sight flush on her face; her brown eyes were bright and eager. She gave her a peck on each cheek.

Bella had forgotten how close they were before. They had shared a room during her last visit years ago when she was twelve. They had the same height, same pallid skin and the same eyes. The only difference was that she had smaller features and lighter hair.

"Charlie said you have a boyfriend," she said bluntly as she took off her jacket but it was obvious that she was implying something. She shot glances at her as if to ask "Is it true?"

"Yeah, this is Edward," she answered sheepishly, gesturing at her vampire sweetheart. "This is Alice, his sister."

"Hello," she greeted politely, assessing the perfection before her. She did not seem to be bothered by it.

_They look nice. It's sure unlike Bella to have a . . . _

She shook the thought out off her head.

_There must be something more than what meets the eye, _she decided. _I _know _how picky this kid could be._

Edward could not help but smirk at her thoughts.

"Bella, a boyfriend," her tone was even, accusatory.

"Yes, I have a boyfriend," she replied tartly. "How about you? Found anyone in Italy?"

She scowled at her. "I know some guys."

"You know, your voice is different," she noted, suddenly realizing that Lilia's voice was a bit higher.

"It's the operation," she shrugged. Her eyes widened, remembering something. "Oh, Bella, you'll never guess."

She looked up, a bit puzzled. Was it just her or was Lilia avoiding something? _No, _she thought. It was just paranoia.

"You remember Anna from here? We used to call her Anna Banana, right? She really looked like one."

Bella laughed. "Yeah, I remember." _Those were good days. The best days during my summer visits._ _Better than the fishing trips. _She remembered the girl from before. She was three years older than her but she was every bit childish. They used to play together, Anna, Lilia and her.

The next thing she said swept every paranoia bothering Bella- at least, for that matter:

"I saw her in Italy, in a city called Volterra. It's near where I'm studying. I wasn't able to talk to her. I mean, she was really _rushing _somewhere. I'm sure Volterra's nice and all but . . . Oh, well. There were loads of them. I saw her with the other tourists. The tour guide was really pretty but she looked like she could have gotten a better job. I mean, she didn't even _look _the part. She was all pale, brown-haired and she's got those weird violet eyes . . ."


	12. Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: The italicized texts are either thoughts or memories, just to remind you. The second part is something that happened before because the Volturi guards at that time had already gone to Forks. Please review! :D

* * *

Anna Thornberry was a happy-go-lucky girl, childish in spite of her age. Her hair was a bright yellow with brown highlights and her eyes were brown. Bella remembered her because of her appearance— similar to a banana.

She slumped back and gazed at the forest before her. She was sitting by the Cullen's house, kicking her feet aimlessly at the ground, bothered by the memories that kept flooding in.

"_I think we should let the grasshopper go," _Anna had declared during one of their childish games.

Lilia had squirmed at that. _"Are you sure? It wouldn't be fun if we let it go . . ."_

"_No!" _her voice had rung with authority. _"The grasshopper must _live._"_

Bella had sighed and rolled her eyes._ "Whatever. Just do it."_

"_Just play the game, Bella," _she remembered Lilia had eyed her that time in silent chastisement.

She would have laughed at that but she felt unable to do now. How could she if the subject of her laughter would be directed to someone dead?

In those days, the only thing she looked forward to was Anna and Lilia. She hated Forks and its wet ambiance. She hated all the green. That was why she put her foot down by the time she was fourteen. At that time, Lilia continued her education in Italy while Anna and her family had long moved to California. What was the point of coming to Forks, then, she asked herself, if the main reasons why she tolerated that place for such a long time were not there?

As she reminisced those rare times of joy in Forks of long ago, she felt an overpowering sense of guilt that she was alive and that Anna Thornberry was not.

Jasper frowned. "She's feeling guilty."

"Why would she feel that?" Alice scowled as her gaze diverted from Bella to her husband.

"I think it's because of that Anna," he hesitated. "I'm not sure but I think it's because of the way she _died _that troubles her."

Alice shook her head, sighing. "Oh, Bella."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "It would take time."

She looked at his eyes. "I'm worried about her, Jazz. You know what she does with herself."

She was obviously thinking about the cliff diving incident.

"She won't do anything rash," he assured. "You of all people should know that."

She closed her eyes and opened it after a moment. "You're right. At least, she thinking of not doing anything for now."

Bella stretched her arms, and looked up at the sky. Clouds had covered all the blue.

"It's not your fault, Bella," a velvety voice said.

"How did you know . . .?"

He smiled at her. "You're expression is very much readable."

He sat down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I know you're worried about your friend, Bella, but it's like that. You should be happy that at least, Lilia wasn't one of those, or you. You don't know how much that would pain Charlie."

She sighed and buried her head on his shoulder.

"It's just . . . wrong. I _knew _her. She was my friend." She felt tears stinging her eyes.

"It wasn't your fault, Bella," he told her again, hoping that the constant reminder would assure her it was true.

And he hummed her song to her. But it did not supply the comfort it had given her before.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"_Anna Banana?" he arched his eyebrows._

"_It's a bit cliché, don't you think?" she grinned._

"_Here's our dinner," he murmured, his eyebrows still raised._

"_Alec?" It was Aro._

"_Yes, master?" he answered automatically._

"_Perhaps you could withdraw our guests' pain for tonight?"_

_Guests, he was amused that they would consider their food as visitors._

"_Of course."_

_Aro placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "We must test your ability tonight as well."_

_She smiled up at him. Satisfied with her silent agreement, he left._

_Alec held out his arm to her._

"_Shall we?" he offered, gazing at her black eyes._

"_Whatever you say, partner."_

_They were walking arm to arm to the room where the banquet was to be served when they came past Jane who was leaning on the wall, arms crossed, glaring at Alec._

"_I wish I'd get my turn," she grumbled._

"_Jane, I'm not a toy," she frowned._

"_Sure you're not," she smiled up at her. "But I'll get my time. I just know it. There are always those newborns heading to the Olympic to test it out."_

_She stiffened. Perplexed, Alec threw a glance at her._

"_Any problem with the Olympic?" he asked._

"_I used to live there," she answered hesitantly. Her memories were muddled but she could clearly see the ones where he was there. She would never forget him. _Our kind must not mingle with humans_, he had said. _Why are you with me then?_ She asked. He smiled. _Sometimes the temptation is too sweet to resist_. Somewhere at the back of her head, there was a buried memory. She struggled to recover it. Some time, what seemed to be eons and eons ago, three girls were playing in front of Chief Swan's residence._


	13. Alibi

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: I haven't been very creative lately . . . Even so, hope you like this! Please review! XD

* * *

"Charlie, will it be alright if Bella and I go shopping in Port Angeles?"

Bella could tell that Charlie was surprised by Alice's rather abrupt plans. It was the second day of Lilia's visit and Alice came over to discuss to Bella about her graduation attire.

"Sure, Alice. I can't see anything wrong with that," he finally said, amiably. He had no problems with that Cullen.

"Can Lilia come with us?"

At this, Bella stiffened. _What is she thinking? Lilia?_ She was giving her meaningful, incredulous stares but she ignored her completely.

"Hmmm, that sounds nice but I'll pass," Lilia said who looked up from the magazine she was reading to answer and went back to the article about _What Kind of Shopper are You?_.

Alice pouted. "Are you sure?"

"The doctor said I shouldn't overexert myself."

"I'm sure Carlisle would have a say about that," she challenged.

Lilia laughed. "Better to be safe than sorry. Really, Alice, if I could, I would."

She sighed and looked down at the floor. "If you say so."

Away from Charlie's and Lilia's eyes, she winked at Bella.

Bella relaxed. _Of course. Alice must have seen a vision that she was going to refuse the offer. _She was still a bit rattled about what Lilia had said, about Anna Banana_. _She remembered that time when she went to Volterra. Alice looked up at her worriedly. She knew that the 'tour guide' Lilia mentioned was actually Heidi with her preys in tow.

Lilia Swan was lying on the sofa, munching on a bag of Cheetos and gulping down a can of Dr. Pepper.

"Are you allowed to eat that?" Bella asked, staring at her.

"Yeah, the doctor said it's fine to eat junk food," she grinned. "Want some, Bells?"

She declined. She was amused that she ever considered her flushed faced, Cheetos-eating aunt to have been bitten by a vampire, much less transformed into one.

"What's with the abrupt plans, Alice?"

Alice scowled at her. "Bella, you really don't classify your very meager supply of clothes as a wardrobe, do you?"

She frowned. She hated that the newborns had taken some of her clothes, and the wearable ones at that. She was even more worried about the clothes Alice was planning to buy her. She knew that they weren't really headed to Port Angeles. They were headed to the forest to combat newborns. Obviously, Charlie wouldn't agree on _that. _

"When are you girls going?" Charlie asked.

"A week from now," Alice said. "Just after graduation."

Bella winced. _Graduation. _Not only was she graduating from high school, it was goodbye to humanity as well. The diploma would be handed by Edward himself— the bite that would rob her off her life and that would give her another anew.

_Good riddance, too, _she thought. She couldn't wait to transform from a translucent, clumsy human into a beautiful, pale-faced, graceful vampire. But, the thought of being one was a punch to her guts— she was still nervous, and scared of letting go of her humanity.

Lilia slumped back of the sofa and racked her brains for her most recent dreams. She could not remember. She sighed and flipped several pages of the magazine she was reading until she found an article that caught her eye: _How to Find the Perfect Guy._

Alice recoiled, wrinkling her nose. Charlie and Lilia did not seem to notice.

The bell rang. Charlie walked over to answer the door.

"Jacob."

Jacob didn't seem to be bothered by Alice's presence. He expected it, although it did not stop him from being disgusted. The smell was too overpowering.

"Hey, Charlie."

"Come in," Charlie said, stepping back so he could enter. He walked in casually.

"Hey, Bella," he grinned at her, then gave a stiff nod at Alice's direction.

"Jake, this is my aunt Lilia. She's a year older than me," Bella said.

"Hi," he greeted, smiling.

"Hey. Charlie told me a lot about you," she said.

Bella frowned. She knew how Charlie wanted Jacob and her to be together. He wasn't a fan of Edward ever since that incident after her birthday. _It's natural, I guess, _she thought somewhat bitterly. _Natural for Lilia to know heaps about Jacob and absolutely nothing about Edward._

"By the way he talked about you, I thought you were her boyfriend!" she laughed. Jacob laughed, too, but it was visible to Bella that he was wishing it was true.

"I'm taking Bella shopping tomorrow," Alice mentioned casually, looking at Jacob meaningfully on the eye.

At first, he was confused but his facial expression shifted into a more understanding look.

"Really? Have fun," he smirked. Bella frowned at him. _I guess he knows about the camping plans._

"I never thought Bella liked shopping," Lilia said.

"I don't," she retorted flatly. Alice glared at her.

"Hey, Bells," Jacob said. "Wanna go to La Push? If it's alright with Charlie, of course."

He threw a furtive glance at Charlie. Alice crossed her arms, irritated.

"Bella, you should go," Charlie urged, obviously thrilled by the idea that she and Jacob would spend time together.

"Can I come?" Lilia asked.

They did not expect that.

"I mean, I'll probably just stay in the car. I've been here for hours. I need a change of scenery," she added hastily.

"Um, sure," Jacob shrugged.

"Cool," she grinned.

Bella's face contorted as worry overcame her. She knew Jacob had something to tell her but how would he with Lilia around?

"I thought you hate La Push?" Charlie eyed her.

Jacob laughed, despite the anxiety he felt. She rolled her eyes.

"I hated the fishing, Charlie. It doesn't necessarily mean I hate the place."

"Oh, alright," he frowned.

"Alice, are you coming?" she asked.

"No, I always though it smelled like a dead rat in there."

_Har har, _Jacob leered at her. She completely ignored him.


	14. Voices

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: OKAY! This is the fourth chapter I've published today. This one lacks description but please bear with me. I'm a beginner here and I've been too busy to squeeze out whatever creative juices I have left in me. This is mostly from the book except for the first and last parts so you might get bored. Please review!

* * *

The windows were rolled down, the wind blowing against their skin. After a few moments of silence and a couple of small talks, Bella figured it was time to break the ice.

"Hey, Jake, you ever heard from those guys?" she asked.

He knew what she meant instantly. He shrugged. "Those weirdos? Probably ran off."

"Who ran off?" Lilia asked curiously from the back seat.

"Some guys who rented a house near the forest," Bella answered. Lilia could hear the reluctance in her voice. She knew it was something that she did not want to talk about.

She shrugged. "Lots of guys are like that." And thus, she saved them from an awkward conversation.

They dropped off in front of Jacob's house. Billy was by the house looking out at them.

"Oh, hey, Billy," Lilia greeted.

"Lil! It's been a long time, hasn't it? Luckily for you, the fish aren't biting," he laughed.

She grimaced. "I always hated fish. They're too mushy and tasteless . . . at least for my palate. I'll go by the beach to get some fresh air, okay?"

They watched her as she walked away.

"Right! So, Bella," Jacob started once Lilia was from a favourable distance away. "You convinced your bloodsucker boyfriend to stay in camp with him, huh?"

She scowled at his smirk. "As a matter of fact, I did."

"Are you aware that you just deprived him of what must have been the best experience in his damned existence?"

She looked away from him and realized that Billy was gone.

"Edward told me something the other day . . . about you," she said, remembering their conversation.

He bristled. "It's probably a lie."

She eyed him. "Oh, really? You aren't second in command of the pack, then?"

His face turned blank in surprise. "Oh. That."

"How come you never told me that?" she complained.

He shrugged. "It's no big deal."

She crossed her arms. "So how those that work? How did Sam become the Alpha and you . . . the Beta?"

He chuckled at her invented term. "Sam's the first and the oldest. It made sense for him to take charge."

"But shouldn't Jared or Paul be the second, then?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Try."

He hesitated. "It's more about the lineage, you know?"

"Didn't you say that Ephraim Black was the last chief the Quileutes had? Then with the lineage, you should be the Alpha, right?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "It's Sam's job."

"Why? His great-granddad was Levi Uley, right? Was he an Alpha, too?"

"There's only one Alpha," he answered automatically. "Guess Levi was a Beta."

He snorted at the term.

"That doesn't make sense."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Bella's lips curled into a pout. He sighed.

"Alright. I was supposed to be the Alpha."

Her eyebrows pulled together. "Sam didn't want to step down?"

"Hardly. I didn't want to step up," he frowned at Bella's confused expression. "I didn't want any of it, Bella. I didn't want to be some legendary chief. I didn't want to be part of a pack of wolves, let alone their leader."

Bella pondered for a moment. "Chief Jacob," she whispered, testing out how the words sounded together. He rolled his eyes.

At the beach, Lilia was gazing at the horizon. It was a cloudy day; the cool air was blowing the tendrils of her light brown hair.

_There's something wrong, _she thought. _Definitely. They're hiding something._

She was torn on whether she would look for the reason why or not. Something told her that some things were best kept secret.

_I'll keep it that way, then, _she decided. _At least, for the meantime. _

That did not ease her troubled feelings, though. A sixth sense told her that there was something else. She could hear it.

She was not alone.

Their voices were muffled, from afar but not too far away.

She walked to the direction of the voices, wondering if it was someone she knew. She reached the top of a slight slope and looked down to where she knew the voices came from. She could see them now; they were abnormally tall except for one. They were talking in a rush when they abruptly stopped. They turned to her direction, their blood red eyes visible even from afar.


	15. Discovery

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: Originally, this was two separate chapters but by themselves, they would be too short so I merged them into one. I hope you like this! Please don't skip chapters! You might get confused. Please, please review!

* * *

Alec gazed at the forest before him. He wondered if she was alright, if she was doing fine. Jane was impatient. She wanted so badly to use her special ability, with her aid of course. She was like a brand new doll; the only difference was that she didn't think that she was going to get bored of her that easily. _I would never_, Jane decided. She was confident that her power was strong but with hers, she would be invincible. Nothing could stop her. _Save for that human girl, _she thought acidly.

He remembered that time, months ago, when she was to be fed to them. Her blood would have been delectable; he could remember that it smelled nice, different from the others in that room. He also remembered when Aro extended his hand to read her mind. Her fingertips were only a few centimetres away when Aro's face contorted in confusion.

"_I don't understand," he said._

_She froze, unsure of what to do._

"_I can see, but I have not touched," his expression was bewildered._

_She was puzzled by this. _But he said, _she thought. _Could he be wrong?

"_No, he was right, young one," Aro answered her thoughts. _

_Shhe felt uncomfortable, knowing that he had access to her thoughts. She did not want him to know of what she knew of their kind. It was betrayal if she would let him into her mind._

What is this? _She asked herself. Understanding dawned upon her but she was unable to accept it. She knew her capabilities and as she looked up to Aro's eyes, she knew he knew that, too._

"_You are leaving something behind," he arched his eyebrows but the delight in his eyes was clearly visible._

_She did not know why she felt guilty by this, but she was. _It wouldn't hurt if he knew of Bella, wouldn't it?

_Aro smiled gleefully. "Oh, how wonderful! It is a twist of fate! Brothers, we have stumbled on one of Bella's friend! Isn't that magnificent?"_

_It was clear to her that they did not share his exuberance. She knew who the other two were. The snow-haired one was Caius, the other was Marcus. He told her that. Caius did not look as eager as Aro but he did look somewhat curious at his new discovery._

"_What is it, Aro? What is this?" he asked, glaring at the girl irritably._

"_It seems that this young one has a special talent," he replied, eyes bright. "It is amplification and perhaps nullification and everything in between."_

_Caius now looked interestedly at the girl._

"_She would be a perfect addition to our little collection! Just think of the numerous possibilities. Jane would be able to target more than one with her own ability and Alec would be able to use his faster!"_

_Jane looked over at the girl, intrigued by the idea of being stronger than present. _

"_Perhaps you have a good idea of what we are," Aro smiled pleasantly at her. "But then it will always be your decision. Would you like to be one of us?"_

_She knew there was really no choice. Even death, which could have been an alternative, was not. She knew that by being one of them was to join them, to be one of the Volturi guards. She knew that there was no way out. Defeated, she sadly agreed in her thoughts, knowing that Aro could hear them._

"_Wonderful!" he clapped his hands._

_It was the end of her humanity._

Meanwhile, in La Push:

Alden looked strangely at the girl.

_Had she heard of our conversation? _He vexed. But seeing the girl's troubled expression, he knew that she had not heard a thing. At least, she was too preoccupied by other things to consider.

They were talking about the Volturi, their upcoming talk to Aro, and of course, them being in the Olympic, they could not escape talking about _her._

Lilia looked down, feeling somewhat sick. Her stomach churned nervously as she surveyed the four below her. They looked very familiar. She knew she had seen them before. Instantly, she remembered Anna Thornberry.

_What did she say before? _She wondered. It was relevant to what she was seeing now.

She remembered. One day, when she was thirteen, she had told her in such sullen tones: _Vampires exist._

And, looking down before her, she could see such things.

Jacob shoved Lilia to Bella.

"Ouch!"

He ignored her, glowering at the four below them.

Alden Baden was looking at Lilia with an unfathomable expression on his face. His three companions were glaring irritably at Jacob.

"I thought I told you to leave," he growled.

"This is where we live," Alden said, his eyes still on her. "The Volturi are near, by the way. We could smell them."

"What the hell are you saying?" he stepped back, stunned. He threw a furtive glance at Lilia. Her eyebrows were knit in confusion.

Alden Baden now turned irately at him. "You understand what we mean."

He looked again at Lilia then he nodded at his companions and retreated.

"Who are they?" she asked as their retreating figures gradually diminished in sight.

"Those creeps we were talking about," Jacob answered gruffly.

"Oh," she said simply. "So what's that Volturi thing the guy was saying?"

Jacob and Bella glanced at each other frantically. Lilia did not see this exchange; she was still looking at were the Baden brothers disappeared.

"We have no idea what they were talking about," Bella said, rather quickly. She soon regretted it, she was a terrible liar and it was a dead giveaway that they were hiding something.

Lilia raised her eyebrows at her but she let it go.

The werewolves were having lunch in Billy's place for dinner. They were having baked macaroni, courtesy of Emily.

"Aunt Lil," Bella warned her before they came in. "If you see Emily, don't stare too much, okay? Or ask questions."

She could hear the warning in her voice. Although perplexed, she agreed. "Whatever you say, Bells."

The Black's was a homey residence. It was obvious that the werewolves were close knit, like a family. Dinner began.

"Seth, don't eat all the food!" Paul snapped.

Lilia smiled. It was funny for her that those extremely tall boys (or would you consider them men?) were fighting for something nondescript and childish as dinner. It did not escape from her keen eyes, however, that they were being very, very— and recklessly— secretive.

"Shut up, Paul," Quil hissed.

"I'm. Not. Saying. Anything," he said through his teeth.

"Those bloodsuckers just said something in front of her, we _have _to be careful not to say anything," Embry murmured.

"Jake," Bella called.

"What's up?"

"Lil's not _deaf,_" she heckled. He looked over her. Her aunt was staring at them.

"Hey, you guys," he hushed. "You better shut up if you know what's good for you."

She ignored this. She respected their privacy. It was undeniably something big, as she had surmised earlier. Bella was not so cautious before, owing to the fact that she was a bad liar.

"This tastes nice," she commented. "You cooked this, Emily?"

Emily smiled at her. "Yes, I did."

Lilia could see why Bella warned her not to stare at Emily too much, or comment. She wouldn't have, on the first place. It was impolite. Her scar sent shivers down her spine. It seemed that she was attacked by a bear or a wolf, she noted.

"Wow," she said after a while, chewing thoughtfully.

"Thanks. It was an old recipe," she said, appreciatively.

She smiled sheepishly at the boys around her. "So you're all from here?"

"Yeah, but we're more of a family," Sam told her, putting his arms around Emily.

"So you make up some kind of . . . gang?" she smiled at the word.

He shrugged. "I guess you can say that."

"So, who's your victim?"

They looked anxiously at each other. It was a simple question, but it was hard to answer.

Jacob grinned. "Some cold-blooded creeps."

They guffawed.

"They exist?" she joked.

"Yeah, like those weirdoes earlier."

She looked thoughtfully out the window throughout dinner.

_Cold-blooded._

They were definitely that.


	16. Lies

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: Thank you for reading! I assume that you reading this would signify that you've read the last fifteen. Hopefully. Please don't skip Chapters 11 and/or 13 or any of the other chapters! Anyway, please review! Okay... Threats... Or else I won't update for a long time! XD ~Joking.

P.S. This was originally two chapters but I merged them into one because standing alone they'll be way too short.

* * *

Jacob looked contemptuously at Bella as she answered in hurried whispers to what the vampire on her cellphone was asking her.

"Okay, I'll be right over," she sighed before she pressed the end button.

"The bloodsucker again?" he spat.

"It was Alice," she scowled. "She wants me to come over. She says it's urgent."

"There's no way I'm dropping you off to the bloodsucker's house."

"She's outside the treaty line," she leered at him.

He rolled his eyes.

Basically, in any given relationship there is understanding. Theirs was different. Jacob loved Bella, much to her dismay. Her love was only limited to that of a friend's while his was that of a lover's. She finds herself in the middle of two gravitating forces each pulling her to their side until she is left thorn apart. She sighed at this predicament. It was dangerous, that kind of relationship. She was friends with the worst enemy of her love. She wondered if there was a more frustrating situation. She could think of none.

Alice smiled forcibly at Jacob, for the sake of Lilia.

"Hello," she greeted.

He smiled tightly. "Hey."

"Hey, Alice."

Bella crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. She was thankful that Lilia was not paying attention too much; the play was _very_ obvious.

"So, what's all this?" she asked, scowling.

"I think Lilia should meet the rest of the Cullens."

Jacob rolled his eyes. _That's what's so urgent?_

"Hmmm . . . Alice, I don't really need Dr. Cullen to check on my larynx. The doctor from Italy said I'm alright."

"Oh, well," she shrugged. "Then let's have fun."

Jacob frowned. _Wonder what she means about 'fun'._ Alice glared at him as if reading his mind.

"I'd better go. Sam's waiting for me," he said uneasily.

"Bye, Jake," Bella said.

"Bye," Lilia waved.

He grunted, going back inside his Volkswagen.

The Cullen's house was a sight to behold. Lilia looked impressed although that was clearly below what any other person would have expressed. Bella wondered if she thought it was impolite to gape at it. She wasn't surprised, that was how she was.

"Nice house," she commented.

"Esme designed it," Alice said.

"Oh," she said simply, astounded. _Geez, that's . . . Wow._

Edward laughed at her thoughts. He was in his room. Every human would have the same reaction, even Bella herself.

_Damn. Everything about this house screams 'stunning'!_

He chuckled. He wondered if Bella's thoughts were similar to hers. They_ were _related.

_They say good looks and intelligence don't mix, _she mused. _Huh. _

_I guess she met Carlisle,_ he smirked.

"I don't know, Carlisle. I got the flu and somehow it reached my larynx," she said. He had told her to call him Carlisle instead of Dr. Cullen.

"Can I see?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Sure, no problem."

"Alright," he said, retrieving a sleek, silver flashlight. "Say 'Aah'."

A moment later, it was over.

"I can't seem to see anything wrong."

She beamed. "Really?"

He smiled back. "Your doctor must have been great. You look perfectly fine."

To sum up the events of the day, Lilia was able to befriend the Cullens with her easy charm. Even Rosalie was not at all hostile at the new human companion in their household. Then again, Lilia was no vampire lover and would be in Forks for only a short time unlike Bella. She agreed to give herself up for Alice's makeovers and played chess with Jasper. The game was a short one; she knew the moment he captured her queen that it was over. She sulked in the corner of the room. Jasper was laughing.

"Aw, don't be such a sore loser, Lilia," Emmett chuckled.

She glared at him.

Yes, they were doing great.

* * *

Lilia collapsed on the sofa.

"That's too much for one day," she said as she gasped for air.

Bella laughed. "I wish you hadn't rushed it. Didn't your doctor from Italy warn you not to overexert yourself?"

She smiled. "Whoops, I guess I made a lie. I'm not so keen in shopping, as you know."

Bella blinked twice.

_That was a lie? _She wondered. It wasn't so obvious. Then again, their shopping lacklustre was something mutual. She had to expect it.

"So, what are you going to do tomorrow?" she asked her aunt.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe walk by the forest or something. I used to do that before."

Bella stared anxiously at her aunt. "You can't!"

She looked over at her, confused. "Why?"

She caught herself. _I can't tell her there are vampires roaming around. _

"There are . . . bears."

She laughed. "I'm not going _that _far."

"They're getting wilder. Ask Charlie. I almost got attacked once," she said, her voice intensified by her determination to convince her out of her plans.

She eyed her suspiciously. "What Charlie told me was that you were almost attacked by wolves, not bears."

"Yeah . . . Wolves. Wolves, not bears. I forgot."

She looked sceptical but shrugged her shoulders eventually.

"Whatever you say, Bella."

However, inside, she could not shrug it off, she could not ignore it. She looked at her niece at the corner of her eyes, knowing that she was hiding something. What Bella did not know was that she knew.

_This is a game, _she mused. _Both of us are hiding the truth from each other._

She scowled at the tiny cracks on the ceiling, her gaze away from Bella's so that she would not notice how deep she was in thought. One thing about her was that she was exceptionally observant. One thing about the other, however, was that she was extremely and perhaps, professionally secretive. These characteristics of theirs clashed so at times, Bella could go through those faults in Lilia's secrecy those summers that she stayed in Forks.

This time, she was particularly meticulous about her silence. She had to play dumb. She had to pretend that she didn't know anything.

_Vampires exist._

She flinched as she recalled Anna say those words.

She looked back at Bella who was now preoccupied reading a tattered copy of Romeo and Juliet. A part of her wanted to laugh, she could not be mistaken that Bella's eyes were glistening in near tears. A part of her however, felt completely lost and horrified.

_Of all people, _she thought despairingly, _why vampires?_

Bella caught her aunt looking miserably at her.

"Anything wrong?" she asked, looking up from the book she was reading.

"I'm just wondering," she said carefully, "when are you going to cook dinner?"

She laughed. "Mac and cheese not enough?"

She rolled her eyes. "_Please. _Those boys practically hogged all the food."

Bella gave out a mock sigh as she stood up. "I'll just microwave the lasagne."

Her eyes followed her as she walked towards the kitchen. She was not hungry. She did not want to eat. Her appetite was not for food but rather, to what she did not know. She looked out at the window. It was raining, naturally. She closed her eyes as she thought over things.

_Edward Cullen is a vampire._

That, she knew. She was careful about her thoughts around him. Since she came, she had frequent flashbacks of the last time she met Anna.

She had seen a vampire. She knew.

Anna had told her everything she knew, out of fear, that day. She had told her about the Volturi.

"_They're some kind of royalty . . . Like the head of the vampires."_

She buried her head on a throw pillow on the sofa as if by doing so she would be able to stop hearing her voice— breathless, scared.

"_I overheard them talking about this guy named Edward . . . They said that he could read minds like one of the Volturi."_

Unmistakably, _that _Edward.

She breathed in and tried to make her face smooth from emotions. She could see that Bella was already preparing the table.

_I know love, _she thought. _It's sick, sometimes. Makes you crazy. _

As she watched her niece going about, she could only think: _Even fall in love with vampires._


	17. Graduation

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

a/n: Sorry it took a long time to update! I had a hard time thinking of how I should merge two chapters. There are some lines, and words obviously extracted from Chapter Sixteen "Epoch" in Eclipse so please bear with me. Please review!

P.S. I was reading "The Good Earth" by Pearl Buck when I was writing this so this might be kind of influenced by Pre-revolutionary China, IN WRITING. I'm kind of worried that it would look like how Pearl Buck described the slaves or something when I was describing the graduation... Just worried XD

* * *

It was graduation day—the first for her, the nth for him. And as she looked quietly over him, she worried about his promise. Would he keep it?

Lilia was out for her morning walks just as she had done years ago before she came to Italy to study. Edward had slid into the house just as she stepped outside the house to face the foggy forest that wrapped the whole town Forks.

Sensing the growing uneasiness inside her, and knowing the root cause, he touched her check in exaggerated gentleness and smothered his ocher eyes at her chocolate brown.

"If you want, we can always reschedule," he reminded. Though he said it so smoothly, Bella knew that he was actually wishing yes, yes, please reschedule. But she will not let that.

"No!" she almost shouted in horror, her eyes widening. He chuckled.

"The newborns are coming this Saturday."

She nodded. "Alice arranged a 'shopping trip'. I guess that's her alibi, huh?"

He frowned. "It's for your safety, Bella. We don't want you to get hurt."

She shifted, annoyed. "I wish everyone wouldn't fuss about me like this. Do you know how niggling it is to have everyone watching my back?"

He laughed. "Niggling?"

She scowled at him. "Whatever."

"It's not completely your fault, Bella. The dogs would gladly do it just for the fun. We— or rather, Jasper and the others— are anxious for their arrival."

She could hear the slight misery that toned his voice.

_Is that wrong? _Somehow she felt her stomach churn in guilt. _Is it wrong to want him to be safe beside me?_

At the back of her head, however, she knew that there was no way that a useless human like her could protect a strong vampire like him. At the back of her head, she knew it was for completely selfish reasons.

There was a loud knock on the door and Charlie's voice boomed, breaking the silence, making Bella jump.

"Bella! Are you done? You're going to be late on your own graduation!"

She stood up, grabbing her toga. Her human eyes failed to see Edward in his vampire speed, stand up and so it was a surprise to her that he was beside her. He stooped down to kiss her before jumping out of the window, and of course, not before he said "I love you".

"Yeah, yeah... Almost done, Dad," she sighed.

Bella worried, from all that was what to be worried, what Edward would do. It seemed obvious from the very beginning and so connected, that the killings in Seattle were related to her stolen socks. There was absolutely no questioning otherwise. They were so on to more complex probabilities that they were not able to see that the answers were all just in front of them.

Alice had earlier come to her room to save her from being so underdressed on such occasion. She was wearing blue, Edward's favorite. Her forehead creased in this predicament that Lilia who had arrived shortly after breakfast and was now squeezed between Charlie and Bella in the cruiser, noticed this, her eyes being keen in every way. And she knew what it concerned vampires but she did not know how, only that it was because being associated with one would really cause problems.

"You don't look like you're worried about graduation," she murmured to her niece. "What's up?"

It was an attempt to hide that she knew; only that she was bothered, and of course, it worked as how every other attempt did.

"No," Bella retorted, frantically hiding her surprise that Lilia noticed. "Just the graduation."

She smiled and patted her hand comfortingly. "Like what they always say: 'It's just the beginning'."

She returned her smile, with effort, stroke by the bitter irony of it all.

The rest of the day was the same, orderly (or can you say, partly disorderly?) procession as what one may see in movies. Up in the stage, Bella could see Charlie, Lilia, Billy and Jacob, all cheering for her as she received her diploma from Principal Greene.

The cameras flashed, blindingly. The applause were deafening. She closed her eyes and committed them to memory, to her weak human recollections.

"Congratulations," Lilia said. "You just finished four years of high school."

Bella smiled at her. _You don't know what else I just finished. My whole human life, that's what._

"You're going to start big now, huh? Lots of things are ahead."

_You don't know the half of it. _She clutched on her diploma.

"Bella!" Charlie gave her a big hug and somehow she could feel tears stinging her eyes.

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Dad."

She pushed the long sleeves of her attire to her elbows. The bright orange toga was hideous and as expected, only Alice and Edward were able to pull it off.

"Congratulations," Edward whispered, wrapping his arm around her waist. She looked up at him and saw that his eyebrows were knit in confusion.

"Um, thanks," she said, her eyes looking over at the crowd. "Where's Alice?"

"She ran off after she got her diploma," he said carefully as if assessing the act on his mind.

"Worried about Alice?" she did not need to guess, she knew.

He looked uncertainly at her. "She was translating the Battle Hymn of the Republic into Arabic, and after that, she moved to Korean sign language."

It _was _something to keep one busy. She laughed nervously.

Edward looked suspiciously at her. "You know what she's hiding," he accused.

"Sure," she managed to say calmly. "I'm the one who came up with it."

He waited, confused and listened to Bella's rushed explanation and her reasoning, his face betraying no emotion. When she finished and garnered enough courage to see look at him for his reactions, she saw that Edward stood shock still, paler than usual. Perhaps, questioning himself why he did not see that it was like that all along.

They had anticipated that an army of newborns would come. They may have changed their minds through the courses of their travel but it was impossible that they would not slip. Alice may not have seen clearly what was to happen but she had an idea. Though they had only surmised that Victoria had an army of newborns ready to take revenge. What was alarming, though, was that they were so close to Bella and could have killed her given the right time. And from this, they knew that they were coming soon. Perhaps they will come on the next day or two, after they smell the air and deduce exactly how far away they were and their speed altogether. They would know them by the smell of coursing blood on vampire flesh. The information was vague but adequate enough.

Bella was pushed away from him by the crowd of either crying graduates or beaming relatives. Jessica had stumbled over her and she sobbed and blubbered about how time flies and now there they were. She was pushed farther until she bumped into Angela and they exchanged kudos to each other talked for a bit then she was pushed away by Angela's relatives until she tripped towards Charlie.

"There you are," Charlie sighed in relief. "You just missed Billy and Jacob. They already went."

Bella snapped herself awake from all the confusion.

"Dad, we should start going. You remember Alice's party?" She cringed at the thought. Alice had made a graduation party to 'complete all human experiences'. Honestly speaking, Bella didn't think that hosting a big party would be considered an essential not-to-miss human experience. It was under 'miscellaneous'.

Lilia laughed. "Sorry, kid. You'd have to suffer this alone. Thank God the doctor banned me from overexerting."

Bella glared at her. She knew the 'overexerting' bit was pure bluff.

Charlie drove his cruiser, following the weaves of silky ribbons directing to the Cullen house. Lilia fought the temptation to gasp aloud at the sight: from outside, one could see that the magnificent mansion had transformed into a disco. You did not need to enter to know that gala was to be expected.

Bella scowled as she surveyed the house. There was absolutely no way of escaping Alice's festivity, even when an army of newborns were to attack who knows when. Partly worried about what Edward would say and partly worried about the party itself, she had to bite her tongue and get on with it.

Sighing, she jumped out of the car and headed to the door, getting herself ready for the coming onslaught.


	18. Countenance with Vampires

a/n: I'm so sorry I haven't updated early! I am currently preoccupied with Harry Potter... But I _will _finish this fanfic. I promise! I've gotten it all typed down in my laptop, ready for revising. Please R&R!

* * *

Jane was curled up like a ball under one of the hundreds of pine trees in the forest. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, her chin lying on her knees. Demetri and Felix were standing on guard of nothing in particular. Alec was gazing over the thick greenery.

"She's back."

Jane jolted up and rolled her eyes. "About time."

"You took your time," Felix quipped.

"She did some hunting. Outside Olympia, of course," Alec said.

"The newborns are heading south," Demetri informed.

"Hello, Alec, Jane," she looked over at the two, much taller vampires. "Hello, Felix. Hello, Demetri."

"Shall we meet them?"

"I heard that Carlisle Cullen's coven had teamed up with some very unusual creatures."

"They're planning on taking those newborns?" Jane asked, disbelieving.

She nodded. "Apparently, one of the members of his coven has experience regarding killing newborns."

"This I've got to see," Felix grinned.

"I think they can do it."

"What are those creatures you were talking about?" Alec asked her.

"They think of themselves as 'werewolves'," she laughed.

"Are they?"

"Of course not," she smiled. "I know a werewolf when I see one. Those 'werewolves' smell like . . . ugh. Wet dogs."

She looked around. "Where's Aro?"

"Oh, Master went to explore the outside world," Jane said nonchalantly. "It's been centuries since he went outside of Volterra."

She nodded carefully. "We should inform him soon. They're coming later on."

"The girl," Jane sneered. "Is she still human?"

"Very."

She laughed. "Oh, that will be interesting news, don't you think Alec?"

Her twin nodded. "Very interesting. I wonder what Caius would say?"

The girl frowned. "She will be a vampire eventually. There's no need to rush things."

Jane continued laughing, ignoring her. "I can't wait for later. How many newborns do you think there are?"

"About twenty, maybe."

She smiled angelically, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This will be fun."


	19. Eclipse Edited

a/n: "Eclipse Edited" because I think this chapter is Eclipse _fully... _er, edited. R&R please!

* * *

She inhaled deeply the as the cold breeze swept over her. She was in the middle of the forest, camping— the last thing she would ever do— unlike what Charlie believed. He thought she was in Port Angeles, shopping with Alice, and if he knew her more than he did, he would have known that that activity somewhat hovers on the end on her list of not-to-do's.

After Edward helped her out to spread her scent around the forest (to mislead the newborns), Jacob led her to that site. The tent was set behind her and she was soon coming inside, her arms were wrapped around herself and she inwardly chastised herself for forgetting her jacket.

It was ice-cold but bearable. Even so, she yearned for a bit of warmth. She rushed inside the tent. The sleeping mat was rolled on the corner of the meagre space. She unrolled it and thrust her legs inside, relishing the heat.

She heard the sound of the zipper around the tent door pulling swiftly down. Jacob squeezed through the opening, allowing the cold air to enter. She shivered slightly.

"They're coming," he said bluntly.

He knew that he did not have to say it, that Edward would be able to hear his thoughts. But his ulterior motive was not to inform. He had to see Bella.

His eyes would start the conversation. He looked uncomfortably at her, his gaze pleading. She looked down, not able to meet his eyes.

"Sam's calling me," he said, and then he turned to leave.

"Jake, wait!"

He turned to face her, his eyes expectant and his face lit up in hope.

Edward frowned. He could hear Jacob's thoughts but not Bella's. He did not know what she was trying to do.

"Don't leave."

He looked surprised, then for a while disappointed until he chuckled.

"Fat chance, Bella."

And he went cheerfully out to battle.

Seth whined.

He felt miserable for being left behind. He blamed Bella, of course. It was as if he was backing out a sold-out concert to babysit someone. _Except this is much, much worse,_ he thought.

"I'm sorry, Seth," Edward said.

He whined again.

He sighed and looked ahead. "That makes the two of us."

Bella felt extremely guilty. She scowled at one side of the tent.

_Everyone else—Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Rosalie, Esme . . ., _she winced at the thought of Esme in battle_, are out there, risking their lives, while I'm here, sitting pretty._

"Don't blame yourself, Bella."

She was startled to hear from Edward. For a moment, she wondered how it could be that he read her mind but she later realized that it showed.

Outside, Seth jolted up, growling at the trees. Edward stiffened.

"They're here."

* * *

A low rumble escaped from Seth's throat. Bella tried to follow the direction where they were facing. She could not see what their superior visions were seeing. The two vampires finally emerged.

Flaming red hair surrounded her face, making her look menacingly like a lion. Her gaits were leonine, her face full of vigour. Revenge was sweet. That day, she was a step closer to fulfilling her vengeance.

Edward would not allow that.

Calmly, he stepped before Bella but that did not make Victoria's eyes tear from hers.

There was another vampire with Victoria.

"Riley," Edward called out softly. "You don't have to do this."

Confused, the vampire Riley threw a furtive glance at his mate.

"Don't listen to him, Riley. I told you about them," Victoria said, her eyes still on Bella.

This comforted him a little and he stood a bit more confidently than before.

"She's only using you," he continued. "To take revenge on her real mate, James."

Victoria flinched at the name.

"No, Riley. Don't listen to him. You're the only one I love." Her face did not match her words.

Her eyes then lingered to the beastly large werewolf beside Edward. She stepped back, alarmed.

Edward chuckled. She glared with seething rage at him.

"Don't be so sure of what you see, Victoria. Take a look closely. Is he the same one you and James hunted in South Africa?"

"Impossible," she hissed.

The constant reminder of James had driven her to the end of her rope.

"Riley," she called, meaningfully. He nodded.

Seth pounced forward, baring his teeth at the male vampire who had done the same.

He snarled before he flew through the centre of the opening, throwing Riley to the ground.

"No!" Victoria cried shrilly in disbelief.

Seth threw Riley a yard and a half in front of Bella, ripping him into pieces with his teeth.

Edward's eyes focused on Victoria.

"No," she said through her teeth.

In that split second, like a blinding flash, Victoria leaped towards Edward. He expected it, however. She lunged forward; he stepped back by a narrow margin.

Lunge.

Dodge.

Lunge.

Dodge.

In such quick, graceful movements, Bella could have been told that they were dancing and believed it. But in this matter, there were no dancing, no merrymaking. These were two vampires wanting to kill the other.

It also happened in a split second, much too quick for human eyes to see, Victoria's smile of victory.

There were more of them and they were coming.

One.

A complete stranger. It was obvious, from his blood red eyes and reckless speed that he was a newborn. He lunged towards Edward.

"_Edward!"_

Bella's screams were in vain, he was too fast for any of them.

But that didn't mean he could compete with a dozen vampires.

At least, he could equal them with a bit of advantage on their part. But it was only that tiny speck of superiority that they needed. They weren't as untrained as they had thought.

One lunged for Bella.

It happened somewhat in slow motion, too fast for the human eyes to see but adrenalin made it possible. Ten feet away. Eight. Five. Three. Two. One. Hands two inches from her face. Edward and Seth were pinned down by a dozen of vampires, their faces agape.

Then a huge coal black wolf jumped towards the attacking vampire. Then rip, tear and somehow, smoke was in the air, the steely scent of vampire remains wafting. Two more werewolves came, one a dark brown, the other gray. They came down towards the remaining vampires.

"There are more to come."

Bella blinked several times and looked up at the tall figure of Alden Baden. He wore no shirt; his neatly trimmed hair was only slightly ruffled. He had a lighter engraved with an unfamiliar crest on his hand.

From the corners of her eyes, she saw the coal black wolf chucking a flaming hulk of what seemed to be a head on the fire that Alden Baden made. Victoria.

Edward stood up, slightly shaking. Hesitantly, he looked at the burning remains of Victoria and Riley and looked up at Alden.

"Don't even think about it," he muttered. "No vampire can use his ability on a true werewolf."


	20. Home Again

a/n: My chapter titles are getting longer than normal... Oh well. I'm nearing my end. Itching to write another fanfic :D Please R&R!

* * *

The three large werewolves stood behind Alden Baden. He was shirtless, exposing his perfectly sculpted torso. His bare feet crunched on the leaves below him.

The three werewolves were huge. They were even larger than Sam and Jacob. Their eyes were purely of red, their fangs long and sharp. Their fur varied from each other in shade but they remained dark like ash.

"It seems we have come on time," he said crisply after the long silence since he last talked.

"Thank you," Edward said stiffly.

Alden smiled wryly at him. "Mind reading abilities?"

He nodded.

The man looked over the thick forest of pine trees.

"The Volturi are here?" Edward recoiled as if he was hit.

He did not reply.

Edward sighed heavily, understanding the meaning of the silence and nodded.

"Thank you . . . Again. For everything," he said. "If there is any way we can repay you . . ."

"No," Alden interrupted. "We did this on our own will."

He stood stiffly, then.

Alice rushed in first.

"Edward, I just saw . . ."

"Yes," he replied curtly. "I have as well. When will they come?"

"About two minutes from now."

The three werewolves grunted behind Alden. Their eyes blazed in fury, a deep, throaty rumble came out of them.

Alice stared at them in horror.

"They mean no harm. In fact, they saved us," Edward said.

"Oh," she could only manage to say.

Jasper was instantly beside Alice.

"They're coming this way," he said urgently.

"There are _more?_" Edward stared at him in horror.

"Apparently."

"I think that it is best that we leave this to the Volturi," Alden suggested.

Jasper looked astonished at the man.

"He's on our side," Alice murmured, squeezing his hand. He relaxed instantly.

"Carlisle," Jasper called.

Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie had appeared a few feet behind them.

"Alice? How long will the newborns come here?" the doctor asked.

"A moment before the Volturi comes."

"They're here!" Rosalie hissed, glaring at the trees around them.

She was correct. In an instant they were surrounded by ravenous newborns. Their gazes were on Bella. Edward stepped protectively in front of her, crouching. Jacob did the same.

Alden looked over to his right where no newborns were positioned. Edward looked over at him in surprise then at the same direction. Everyone crouched, the newborns, the vampires and the werewolves (or rather, the shape shifters) — everyone except the Badens, Edward, Alice, and of course, Bella.

The newborns launched themselves.

And instantly, at the blink of an eye, they fell groaning in pain.

An angelic laughter chimed like bells amid the moans.

Out from the trees, Aro came, Renata's fingertips on his back, Jane on the first row behind her with Alec. She was grinning, her arm clasp on another vampire's.

"Felix, Demetri."

The two vampires on the second row disappeared, reappearing several feet away, ripping each newborn after another, burning them after. Bella flinched away and Edward wrapped his cool arms around her as if to shield her from what was happening. But she could still hear. She could hear the cries of pain of the newborns. She shuddered.

Jane had stopped laughing but her face was still lit up in joy.

"Carlisle, my old friend! It is good to see you after so many long centuries," Aro greeted amiably.

"It seems we meet in improper conditions, Aro," he replied.

"Yes, yes indeed," he said gravely. "And I have to congratulate you. You have done a magnificent work!"

His gaze turned to the wolves. He raised his eyebrows.

"No, it's not that," Edward replied at the unspoken question. "They are here on their own will."

Aro looked over at the vampire.

"It seems that my knowledge about this is meagre," he extended his hand toward Edward. "Perhaps you may supply it?"

"Certainly," he retorted monotonously.

He squeezed Bella's hand before he went to Aro. She felt helpless, as if a shield had just been put down.

Aro closed his eyes as he read all that had crossed Edwards mind.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and new understanding dawned upon him.

"I see," he said, stroking his chin. "That is all very interesting. Thank you, Edward."

He looked over uneasily at Alden Baden who stared back at him coldly.

"It seems that our kind meet again."

The Badens snarled.

"It seems thus," Alden replied. "It is a trouble, for our kind, that way. Perhaps, to yours as well?"

"If we could only reconcile," Aro said, shaking his head in what seemed and only seemed to be genuine regret. "It would be better for us vampires and you werewolves."

The head werewolf smiled bitterly at this.

"You cannot trick me with fanciful words, Aro. I know what you mean."

"And who said that this is trickery, my friend?" he asked innocently.

"You cannot hide the fact that our kind are in conflict," he retorted tersely. "We want simply that you vampires leave our kind alone. Must we directly blame Caius for his cowardice?"

Aro ignored the last statement. "It would be a shame that the two most powerful species will not use their capabilities together. It could have been for a better."

"It is a shame," Alden said tightly.

"We still do not know so much of each other."

Alden shook his head.

"With you and your collections . . . We know everything about the vampires, you being our natural enemies."

"Do you? It would be very interesting if you do, my friend. But, I cannot believe that you know _everything," _he gestured at the unnamed vampire beside Jane. "Do you, for example, know who this is?"

Alden arched his eyebrows. "That information is not necessary."

"I do believe," Aro said gravely, "that _this _particular information _is _very much necessary on your part, Alden."

Alden flinched at the sound of his name spoken by Aro, as if there were no problems between them. The other simply smiled.

He nodded at the female vampire.

Her long, chalky white, graceful fingers slid down the edge of her hood, pushing it down, revealing a pale, heart-shaped face with small features and a pair of blood red eyes.

Alden stepped several steps back in astonishment.

Bella could not help but gasp, as did the werewolves, even at their present forms, and the Cullens.

Her light brown hair swept with the cool breeze of the mountaintop. Her eyes revealing nothing, her gaze was only on the head werewolf, on Alden.

She was home.

_No._

It was the thought of every one of them, except for Aro and the Volturi guards.

_It can't be._

Eyes such as those were unmistakably not human. And, being that she was in the company of vampires, she was well one of them.

Lilia Swan was home.


	21. Answers

a/n: This one's to explain some flashbacks from the past chapters. My Biology's weak so please don't antagonize me for my weak attempt on explaining cell division XD Please R&R!

* * *

"_Tell me about your kind."_

_He laughed. "Are we so fascinating, Lilia?"_

_She did not answer; she continued waiting expectantly for his answer._

_His laughter subsided into a sigh. "To be a one of our kind, you must be bitten by a werewolf in their full moon form. Human form wouldn't do, but our strength in that from could still be equaled to a vampire's— perhaps even stronger. Our strength multiplies when we transform._

_At first, we could only transform once a month, as legends say, in the full moon."_

_Her eyebrows knit in confusion but she did not say anything.  
_

_He smiled. "I know you've seen me in human form during the full moon. I'm getting to that."_

"_Oh," she said simply, blinking her eyes several times._

"_After many centuries, we studied the science behind our transformations. You could relate it to cell division. Prophase first, where the cells prepare for the division. By telophase, we become the reverse of our prophase form. For example, in telophase, the nucleoli and the nuclear membrane that disappeared in the prophase stage reappears and the spindle fibres that were formed in prophase would disappear. In our case, you could relate the spindle fibres as our features— they disappear on the telophase stage and are formed on the interphase stage. Some parts of us disappear as well, in the prophase stage like the nucleoli and the nuclear membrane, in our case, our human features—"_

_She laughed, cutting him off. "You know your science. I get it now."_

_He beamed at her. "Centuries of idleness would do that to you. You'd be forced to read books out of boredom."_

_She shot him another question: "You said something about vampires. Are there any here?", then after a split second of doubt, "Do they _really _exist?"__  
_

"_I'm not sure about the first one," he admitted. "But the latter, yes."_

_Her features froze. _

"_You hadn't expected that, had you?" he said softly. "Vampires— they exist. They are the werewolves' worst enemies._

"_If my kind has an elder, their kind has their own."_

"_Who's the elder of the werewolves?"_

_He looked down at her, surprise coloring his expression. "You don't know?"_

_She shook her head._

_He laughed._

"_Come on; is it my fault that I don't know?"_

_He struggled to settle down, to no avail. "Partly. You've been spending quite some time with one of them."_

_Her eyes widened. "You?"_

"_And Cecil, Gabriel and Monte. We're the oldest of the werewolves. Age determines the strength in our kind," he smiled self-satisfactorily. _

"_I'm the oldest," he added pointedly._

_She mused at that for a moment. _

"_How old are you?"_

"_Does it matter to you?"_

"_No, but I want to know."_

_He looked up at the sky as if recalling a forgotten memory, which was what he was really probably doing._

"_Centuries. Even a millennia, more or less."_

_She only managed to say an "Oh" but shrugged it off._

"_The vampires'?"_

"_They are the Volturi. Be very careful as not to anger them," he smirked, "because you are a human, after all. They are very old . . . Werewolves like myself can easily break them into pieces."_

"_Who's the Volturi?"_

"_That would be Aro, Marcus and Caius. If their world has a royalty that would be them," he retorted. "Don't be fooled by Aro. He's not what he seems."_

_She looked at him puzzled. "Why is that?"_

"_He will know every thought that passed on your mind since your birth with a single touch."_

_She pondered over that. "That's not fair."_

_He smiled affectionately at her. "Vampires are like that, they carry traits they had from their previous life which sometimes turn into powerful abilities. It's something they have that we don't. Then again, those abilities don't affect werewolves so it's no big deal."_

_She frowned. "You're leaving, aren't you?"_

"_How can you tell?" He looked surprised.  
_

"_I don't know . . . every time we talk it's like your preparing yourself to leave."_

_He sighed._

"_Our kind does not linger long."_

"_Like nomads?" she suggested._

"_Yes," he nodded, "like nomads. It would be dangerous to stay at a given place for so long."_

_She looked over at the trees, not meeting his gaze. _

"_If I were like you . . .," she said dreamily._

"_No!" he cut her off, his eyes filled with fright at the thought. "Don't waste your humanity for me. Being me, it would have been alright had I not met you but it's not. It's the barrier than separates my kind from yours."_

"_If I break the barrier . . ."_

_He shook his head vehemently. _

"_Please," he said. "Don't let me suffer at the sight of your pain. It would kill me."_

_She shrugged. "Whatever you say."_

_He had to smile at that, the way she could just shrug of a serious topic as if it was nothing. He wondered if it really mattered to her, inside._

_"I wonder," he said, "if it really matters to you inside."_

_"You would know," she replied confidently. "Besides, if you say it's bad for me, I'll have to accept that. I mean, you really know that to tell me no."_

_She scowled but did not look at his gaze._

_He laughed._

_"You wouldn't want to be a werewolf, Lilia."_

_"Too painful?"_

_"That's one but do you think you could survive with our diet?"_

_"I could adapt."_

_He frowned and nodded gravely. "You're right."_

_It did not mean, though, that he took back what he said. She knew that. He tried to change the topic. _

_"You're like lilies of the field . . ."_

_She giggled but managed to blush._

_"Isn't that in the Bible?"_

_"Yes . . . it's natural for you, everything . . . you're beautiful in every way . . ."_

_"Let's not exaggerate things."_

_He looked at her straight in the eye with the sincerest expression in his face. "Who told you I was exaggerating?"_

_She smiled feebly. "Lilies, they're nice but not for a long time. They wither like all the other flowers."_

_He mused over the analogy._

_"You're right," he agreed. "But you wouldn't want to live forever, would you?"_

_She thought for a moment then looked at him. A minute passed and she grinned._

_"Yes . . . and no."_

_He rolled his eyes. "Oh, for . . ."_

_"C'mon," she said playfully. "It might be boring being immortal but everything has to end somehow . . . like a soap opera."_

_"How about the yes part?"_

_She didn't look at him directly then. "It wouldn't be so boring . . . With you, I mean."_

_He felt happy, somewhat, as selfish as it seemed. But it pained him that what she wanted was something he could not give. Or, rather, he would not. He was capable of making her a werewolf (he shuddered at that thought) but he knew more than to do that._

"_Do you know why there are no female werewolves?" he asked softly._

"_None?" _

"_Yes, none. It's too dangerous. There was one, several centuries ago."_

"_What happened to her?"_

"_The female body . . . it's painful enough for the male. The early transformations, I mean. Sometimes we get fractures or dislocations after we transform back."_

_He sighed and his voice turned bleak._

"_She was Monte's mate. The transformation ripped her to pieces. She was severely injured on her first transformation and somehow, the healing process worked slowly for her. By the next month, the transformation worsened . . . like an aftershock, really. With all her injuries, how could she survive the next onslaught?"_

_She did not speak for a long time. _

That's why Monte's always that gloomy, _she thought._

_Alden sighed._

_"Some things aren't as easy as they seem."_

_She had no reply for that. It was very true._

_She caught sight of a figure from afar._

_". . . Anna . . . Anna's here."_

_He smiled. "I should better be going then."_

_And he disappeared into the trees._

"_Hey, Lil! You better get down there or you're gonna fall!" Anna called._

"_I'm not!" she shouted back. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Taking a shortcut to the store!"_

"_I thought the short cut's downtown?"_

_Anna did not speak for a moment._

"_You're right! Thanks!" she shouted before running off— downtown._

_She rolled her eyes and glanced at the trees. "Alden."_

"_The coast clear?" his husky voice said, softly but loud enough for her to hear._

"_Yes."_

"_Look again."_

_Her eyes trailed downward. She groaned._

"_Oh for . . ."_

"_Charlie said it's dinner!" Bella called._

_He laughed quietly._

"_I'm coming," she grumbled as she slid down the tree._

Everything was a part of her memory.

Too strong to forget even in the arduous journey towards vampirism.

* * *

It was wrong.

There was no reason to want to, to be like them. Who would want to be a werewolf? But to be with him was to be one. That was impossible. And she thought so. Edward heard.

Alden looked over at her.

_I don't understand what she wants . . ._

She regarded his gaze by looking at him in the eye. He could read the pain in them, the longing.

_Now that the impossible is completely so, I should at least be thankful._

He stepped back. He knew that face.

_Thankful to have seen, as I am. But how can she, or I, be thankful towards _them_? _

He shook his head.

"I do not know what you are implying, Aro," he lied.

His voice was calm, receptive.

If Aro was taken by surprised by this statement, he did not show it.

"That is a shame," he said gravely. "Not to see how important this may be."

"It's a shame," he agreed.

"We must come into a truce! Us being highly above the level of humans, we must compromise— it would be important for us to work together. . ."

Alden raised his eyebrows and looked Aro in the eye.

"I know exactly what you mean," he said. "But, there is no way that I would agree to _that._"

_I wouldn't want to be your guard dog. _

In spite that Aro could not read his mind, he knew exactly what he was thinking.

"If that would suite you . . ." he said carefully, his eyes implying the fact that they were severely outnumbered.

"It does," Alden smiled serenely.

He took a step closer towards Aro. The vampires behind him, except for one, hissed.

"I wonder, though," he said quietly. "What would Marcus think if he knew the truth?"

Aro's eyes widened, he stared back at the werewolf before him. A million questions clouded his eyes.

"My kind knows everything," he said as if to answer all those million questions.

He took one parting glance at Lilia and he stepped back, walking towards the abyss. The werewolves followed their captain's heels.

The vampires and the werewolves (the shape shifters for the matter), even Bella, were stunned. What could the secret be? Edward knew of what it meant, he had read Marcus's mind at that time when he went to Volterra. He knew Didyme. What shocked him was that Alden knew it and he used it to threaten the most powerful vampire in the world.

Aro touched his forehead lightly with one of his fingers.

_Didyme._

_How did he know of her?_

Memories flooded within him. Her smile, her voice. He remembered that night when he killed her.

_No, _Aro thought. _It was for the betterment of our kind. I did what was right._

He turned to look at Lilia whose eyes were cast down. He could not read her but he could feel that her loyalty had stuck on him. He wondered greatly why.

"Our business here is over," he said in a gentle but authoritative tone. "We must return to Volterra."

He turned to face Carlisle.

"Friend Carlisle, I pray that we may see each other soon."

"Likewise, Aro," he replied.

He looked around him. The werewolves were gone. Their scent lingered but he could hear their footsteps several kilometers far back.


End file.
